The floor is covered in varying amounts of paper, candle wax, and string as Ama flips through the pages of the book she was looking through earlier. "It has to be here, I know it does," she mutters. "Teleportation spells don't just up and disappear!"998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMbpAkv18T
"Well..." Klef starts, and I rib him. He looks over innocently. "C'mon, Ride!"998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLU5IjsNdY
"No," I tell him, looking at Bobbi. "Your girlfriend usually get this anxious about a spell?"998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajz52H9l7a
"Not usually, but this one's a doozy," Bobbi says, putting a hand on Ama's shoulder from where they're perched on a table behind her. "It's going to take a lot out of her, and she knows it, so she's a bit frazzled."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbQjXKbZMC
"I am not. Frazzled," Ama says through grit teeth.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnfJxz1aud
"Whatever you say, babe," Bobbi says with a slight laugh. "So long as it doesn't hurt you, whatever you say."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3hTke4nvN
Ama mutters in a disgruntled tone, but nobody catches exactly what she says, not even Bobbi, who just looks at us helplessly. "Okay. I think I've got it," Ama says, pointing to some wording on the book that looks like it's written in a different language.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNNgnePh9A
"Is that even Human?" I ask. "It doesn't look like Human writing."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSomShKYnt
Ama shrugs. "Eh, it's not really. It's more wizard-based, though it has Human elements in it as well. But that doesn't mean that I can't read it. Just takes some more effort."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcfZVVhnir
I nod. "You're bilingual?"998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbt1hCP7O4
Ama nods proudly, grinning. "Yeah. Took me forever to read the scraggly handwriting of the other wizards, but it was totally worth it.:998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGoRQWuI22
I smile back. "I'm the kind of person to try and learn my Deuxlife's language but can never get the pronunciation right, and I figure my vocal chords are close enough to a human's that it doesn't really matter."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMwhLhjkmS
"Represent," Rythe laughs, holding out their hand, palm up. I high-five them and they grin. "That's what I'm talking about, Iri."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ895Q8cPAJa
I grin a little and turn back to Ama. "Are you going to need me?"998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgyOmy5ing
Ama nods and picks up a piece of string off the floor from a pile that hasn't yet been scattered around, pulling a face and putting it back. "Not long enough," she mutters, digging through the rest of the pile until she finds a piece that's to her satisfaction. "Give me your wrist," she says, holding the hand with the string out.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoImWfOTHkh
I place my hand in her palm and she wraps the string once around my wrist, before wrapping it around her own and tying it. "If this works right, the magic will learn to travel from you through skin contact to me, but it might hurt, so we have to force our hands to stay together."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9nlXf66yr
"Okay," I say, feeling a little nervous. "If that's what we have to do in order to get this to work, let's do it."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PmFra7b7e
Ama nods and looks over her spell book, starting to mutter an incantation. My hand heats up slowly, slowly, and then all at once, and it's one fire and I gasp in pain, instinctively trying to jerk my hand away, but Ama's hand stays tight against mine. Ama's speech rises in pitch and intensity and she taps her figers against the outside of her book. A wind starts to pick up through the room and the sailors and travellers who were talking to each other disinterestedly at the bar before glance over at us. Klef grabs everybody's things and hands out bags to anyone who has free hands to take them. The yarn and papers on the floor start to pick up and blow in the wind, and the candle wax is crawling across the floor to everyone's feet. Klef shies away from it, before Bobbi holds up a hand. "The wax will keep us together while travelling. Don't move away from it."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkG7DSGpapZ
Klef pulls a face but stays still as the wax moves closer and closer, entrapping his feet to mine on his left, and Flo's on his right. "This is going to be interesting," Hibiscus breathes.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsd4Gn4EAyh
Ama is still chanting, until the yarn and papers have been flung to the far corners of the room, and the room itself seems to be fading from reality. I blink several times and try to focus on it, but it's becoming more smears of color than an actual room. And then those smears of color are starting to change, from the browns of the tables and bar and the varying skin tones of the people watching, to the browns and greens reminiscent of the forest. I look around worriedly. "You're just seeing a bunch of color too, aren't you?" I whisper to Klef.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVozFd1xZbG
"Uh, in a way, yeah. But those colors are also shapes," Klef says worriedly. "I see two places at once, but they're both distinct. Why? Can't you?"998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVjsRaH79i
I shake my head, biting my lip. I don't know what this means for me, but I doubt that it's anything good.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3f8Zh14eW
Eventually all the colors from before are gone and the green and brown I saw before solidifies. Ama sighs and unties the yarn joining our wrists. I blink rapidly, and slowly my sight comes back into focus. "That was a trip," I say shakily.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFBydhzhMv
Ama's legs wobble. "Someone, please... take me inside," she whimpers, before her eyes roll into the back of her eyes and with a soft sigh she falls forward to the ground until Bobbi catches her.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb72eUSocLA
"We're here," Flo says, pointing into the trees.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMdCjUpRbQ
I squint, and see in the distance a building that looks like it's made out of growing trees. “Woah. That’s cool.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOkHObW2k6
Flo looks over at me and smiles. “It is good woodwork, isn’t it? Beautifully crafted. There’s this one Yeti who can make wood look like it has come to life, it’s truly amazing. I think he helped with the work on this site.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZwVeq22Yk
“I can believe it,” Rythe says, walking toward the building. “It’s really intricate. Small scale for a Crusader’s base, but intricate.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TNqT5R6VZ
No one’s outside that I can see, so I walk forward a few steps to get a better look. It’s at the edge of a clearing in the trees, but the branches from old trees stretch over any open air that might have been there, so the whole area is cast in shadow, with only small shapes of light sifting through the leaves. “It’s… fantastic,” Klef breathes behind me. “The descriptions of it just don’t give it justice.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDcSMTv32Y
I nod and continue walking. Klef’s footsteps are quick to follow. “Hey, Ride, let me go in front! You never know when you might be attacked!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdpjEYUbOw
Before I can retort, my stomach lurches and I’m falling backward, my arms flailing wildly before I land squarely on Klef’s chest, at which point he wraps his arms around me. My feet feel for the ground and find a small circular rock where I was just walking. “Congratulations, Treble,” I say, extracting myself from his grip. “You protected me from a fall where I tripped on a rock. You know, you couldn’t have done that if you were in front of me.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Zf4CDYG5g
Klef rolls his eyes. “Ha. Ha ha. You’re a riot, Ride.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTkPTkCGBZ
I laugh.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQNYjchAj1
Klef rolls his eyes at me again and walks next to me the rest of the way to the base, a silent compromise. A someone walks outside the door to the base as we’re approaching, with a cross between a scowl and surprise on their face. “Eh? Who goes there? No one ever appears here anymore!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkn5teq9Mof
“Hey, Alar!” Ama calls. “It’s me, Ama! I brought a few friends, we have things we need to talk about!” Ama turns to me. “Alar’s not one for sharing pronouns, so I’ll beat you to asking. He/him.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQw6ycSb2M
Alar brightens and walks over. Upon closer inspection, it’s clear that he’s actually a dwarf. “Ama! So good to see you, my dear!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8S9jh5MEpy
Ama smiles and walks the rest of the distance to Alar, hugging him tightly. “Hello again, brother,” she murmurs.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIE6obGVUSB
Bobbi looks on with a slight smile of approval. After a minute, Alar breaks the hug and leans back. “What is so important you had to show up in person, sister?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPxvpWRtvd
Ama looks over to me. “Well, you may have heard of the Oracle? She is here, and it was proven to us that there is a network of traitors within the Crusaders. We have come here for her own safety, as well as the safety of our most important assets.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡan2quAwXgv
Alar scowls and rubs a weathered hand over his face. He has dark brown skin and prominent frown lines which have only worsened since Ama spoke. “I wish we could be meeting under better circumstances, then, sister,” he says finally. “Let us go inside.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nlFbSjuVB
All of us walk to the base. In addition to the tree-like look it had when I first saw it, I now notice several platforms stretching into the tree branches, and different cabins built into the trees. Some people are staring out windows, or paused on platforms as they watch us approach, eyes marred with distrust. I swallow. “Not a very friendly bunch,” Klef notes.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqTD63sHxv
“Eh?” Alar says, glancing up into the trees. “Oh. Nah, they just like to act hostile until they know what you’re here for. It’s ‘for the aesthetic’ last I heard from some of the younger ones.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9vKXYlHAz
I laugh. “Oh, I totally understand aesthetic.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡji5oY2VJ7D
Alar looks over at me and smiles slightly. “You have a very nice voice,” he compliments. “Do you sing?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgO4nmZ4or
“Oh! Um, thank you,” I say, taking one arm and rubbing it against my other shoulder. “I’m not a good singer, despite what everyone seems to think when they hear my voice. I like singing, I’m just not that good.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzIv0o2tup
“I would argue against that,” Klef says. “I’ve heard her voice, she’s beyond amazing.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1em6Xio73M
“You’re biased. You’re my boyfriend!” I laugh.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRK2XmHO8l
Klef shrugs.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMirb0d3vvu
We walk inside and are immediately met with the smell of sawdust and the sound of hardware being used. “We’re a small base,” Alar says as he walks around. “No one greatly minds. Our main function is to build and invent tech that the rich either are working on or were working on but stopped. We’re pretty tight-knit, as well. I can tell you that it would be hard for one to not know if there was a traitor in the group.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOboH1fkVP5
“Well that’s a relief,” I say.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdECqRUPAr
Everyone in the group murmurs agreement. Alar nods in thought. “It’s almost night here, everyone is just getting to their quarters. Let me show you to some empty rooms.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznjoXY41Gj
Without another word, Alar changes course down a hall and up a stone stairway to a second floor of the base. He waves to the first room on the left that appears down the hall we walked into out of the staircase. “Here we are,” he says. “It’s more of a barracks than a guest room, but if someone had actually told me you were coming,” he glances pointedly at Ama as he stresses each part. “We could have avoided all this and have rooms prepared.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6PpcCmGI3
“The barracks will be fine,” I say with a wave of my hand and a smile.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrbbdv5Alb
Alar nods but lightly slaps Ama’s hand as he passes her anyway. She turns and calls, “Love you too, bro!” after him.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK22Po2l85h
Klef chuckles and shakes his head. “Sometimes I wish I had a brother or sister to talk to about that. But if Latro happened to give me any half-siblings, I don’t know about them.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGl78ILLsPG
I wrap a hand around his shoulder. “If you ask me, siblings would probably not be worth the hassle. To be honest, I’m just gald I get to be with you. You’re like an annoying younger brother half the time rather than my boyfriend, anyway!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEXn6wv4YK
Klef barks in laughter. “Is that really all you think of me?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZrQd2SNtr
I shrug. Hibiscus shoves past us. “Stop flirting in the doorway and let us see where we’re going to stay!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpx7pi9c54
We do stop, and walk into the large room. There’s 5 beds on either side of the walls, and a window, with tinted glass, in several different colors. “Huh,” I say. “Haven’t seen these kinds of windows in ages. Never at a Crusader’s base, though.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNpW5G9NCd
Flo walks over and inspects it. “That’s interesting. Especially considering you can’t get a lot of sunlight to filter through it anyway. Unless it’s used to send a message to those approaching from eslewhere?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcxL3N3liY
“What, like a No Vacancy sign on an inn?” Klef asks.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfPnBdGtqH
“Probably,” Flo agrees. “Okay, enough talk. I know it only feels like early evening, but if we don’t at least try to go to sleep now, we’ll keep everyone up half the night trying to entertain ourselves.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSbC8SmRmh
Rythe walks over to her and hugs her. “Sweetheart, there’s a bed with our name on it the next room over, it’s another barracks.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1GaNh3TJW
Flo looks over at them, clearly torn. “But if these guys need our help…?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0rHnTHzFh
“It’s 5 feet away, babe. No harm in it,” Rythe reasons. “Besides, I know you don’t like sleeping where you think people might be able to watch you. Even with me, though I’m glad that’s not as extreme as it was.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHegzvVAMx
Flo sighs. “Oh, all right. Fine. But at the first sign of trouble, we come over here.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQOzi5mLwW
“Of course,” Rythe says.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtToxcxZt4i
They leave the room after saying good night to everyone, and Hibiscus jumps on the window next to the bed. “Dibs!” they call happily.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHm0x8TYqi
Klef chuckles and plops down on the bed that’s on the opposite wall and closest to the door. “I’ll sleep here, y’know, in case anyone sleepwalks.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pAGGCpm57
I cross my arms. “Oh, c’mon, Treble, that’s a single bed! I’d have to sleep somewhere else!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fjlBXrmV8
Klef waves a hand. “Bye.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUe15JFkg7Z
“Oh, I see how it is!” I say in mock-offense, going to the bed next to Hibiscus’. “I’ll just sleep over here, then!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mNM4u7mek
“You two are children,” Bobbi says, picking a bed at random and flopping down on it.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukMQexgkBZ
Ama takes the one next to theirs. “Be nice,” they warn.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtXOQh8ypv
“I am nice,” Bobbi says, sitting up.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sEU7X4UIA
“You’re really not,” Ama laughs quietly. Then she sighs. “I’m still drained from using all that magic. I’m going to sleep. Good night, all of you.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGdkBPKcZF
"Night," I respond, before Ama rolls over. When she does, I shift on my own bed. "You know, sleep doesn't sound like a bad idea right now."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3YyVa4GVl
"Mm," Bobbi hums. "I can understand wanting to take a 12 hour nap at 3 in the afternoon. 3 in the morning is when all the really wild parties start to get good, anyway."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34C7rUFZ0J
Hibiscus laughs. "I remember that!" they whisper, leaning forward on their bed. "That was so great!"998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWPhQ4EAUw
Klef looks between them. "Wils party?" he asks.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlKx3xeums
"Some say," Hibiscus says. "Others say that it was just Bobbi getting hopelessly drunk and doing all types of karaoke!"998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8r0uKHfDn
Everyone in the room giggles, save Ama, who is already asleep. I lean back in my bed and stare at the ceiling. "I think I'll try to get some sleep too. We have to figure out our plan of action in the morning."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WeUStY0SK
"Sounds like a plan," Hibiscus says.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqDok3CKnI
"Agreed," Bobbi seconds.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmL5AHnCiwp
"I'll try to sleep, but I'll most likely be guarding the door for several hours instead," Klef says. "But you guys can sleep now if you can manage it on your own."998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmXuyOr81W
I lie down fully, and roll ove onto my side so that I'm facing the window, and I'm out like a light before I even realize what's going on.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKih872dT7b
8964 copyright protection994ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3IGRzr1Jn 維尼

216.73.216.206